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Vail
''Vail (sometimes stylized ''VAIL) ''is a comedy-action series created by Ryan Huang. It is generally regarded as Flaming Gnome Studios' first domestically successful venture into motion pictures. The plot focuses on the unlikely partnership between Captain Levi Vail, an insecure police detective, and Viktor Boroshlav, a pompous Russian spy. Together, Vail and Boroshlav pursue criminal mastermind and eco-terrorist Derek Green. In the vast majority of episodes, Huang portrays nearly all of the characters and shoots without a crew. The series gave rise to numerous spin-offs, many of which are mockumentary-style shorts and skits featuring Huang directing the (fictional) "actors" who play characters in the main series. Although production of the main line of ''Vail ''episodes has been delayed since 2012, spinoff shorts have been produced as recently as 2014. Plans for the continuation of the original series were slated for Summer 2015 but have been delayed in favor of larger studio projects. ''Vail: Original Series (2011-2013, 2015-present) Episode 1: Forgotten Names ''(2011) Police detective Levi Vail (Huang) investigates a string of murders seemingly perpetrated by one man: the maniacal Russian spy Viktor Boroshlav (Huang). Boroshlav incessantly taunts Vail by pretending to forget his name at every encounter, driving the already-unstable detective to the brink of insanity. After being lured into a trap set by Boroshlav to settle the score once and for all, Vail manages to turn the tables on his nemesis. Trapped, Boroshlav heckles him once more before Vail cooly fires his weapon. Cast: * Ryan Huang as Levi Vail * Viktor Boroshlav (Ryan Huang) as himself * Charlie Kamper (Ryan Huang) as Jackson ''Episode 2: The Crimes of Yesteryear ''(2011) The second episode picks up immediately from the first, with Vail reporting to his chief, Jackson (Huang) that Boroshlav has been "taken care of." Jackson briefs him on his next assignment: Vail is to arrest Derek Green (Huang), a powerful eco-terrorist with a body count and plans for a government takeover. Green is located, and a standoff ensues. Vail's gun jams at the critical moment. Before Green can kill him, he is shot in the hand by an unseen gunman and flees the scene. Vail discovers that his rescuer is none other than Viktor Boroshlav, whose life he had spared at the end of Episode 1. A flashback shows that Boroshlav - a former detective working in Vail's department - was originally wanted for the murder of Vail's partner, Jeb Cannes (Huang). Boroshlav reveals that Cannes was actually a Russian mole sent to kill Vail and Jackson; after being discovered by Boroshlav, Cannes inflicted him with "Foreign Accent Syndrome", framed him as the Russian spy, and had him arrested and cast out from the department. Boroshlav succeeded in killing Cannes to stop the plot, but sealed his fate as a traitor in the eyes of his colleagues. Boroshlav explains that he had been investigating Green's activities shortly before the Cannes incident. Seeing a perfect opportunity to rid himself of an enemy, Green successfully pinned his own murders on Boroshlav. In despair, Boroshlav eventually embraced his "new identity" in the hope that Vail would finally kill him out of malice. Vail notes that both he and Jackson had doubts regarding Boroshlav's guilt, but is stunned by the revelations nonetheless. He accepts Boroshlav's offer to hunt down Green together. Cast: * Ryan Huang as Levi Vail * Viktor Boroshlav (Ryan Huang) as himself * Charlie Kamper (Ryan Huang) as Jackson * Zach Justberg (Ryan Huang) as Derek Green Production of Episodes 1 and 2 Both episodes were filmed on an iPhone 4 with a Super 8 emulator, producing distinctive, grainy footage that counterbalanced the studio's lack of professional recording equipment. Since Huang was the sole actor and camera operator, all footage was shot with the iPhone mounted on a tripod. Each episode was filmed and completed within one day. Trivia and referenced works * The black Guerra fedora worn by Cannes in ''Episode 2 ''was first worn by Ryan Huang in the OHS play ''Once in a Lifetime. Huang played the character of Laurence Vail, who served as the inspiration for the Vail ''series. * ... ''Episode 3: A Green Affair ''(2012) Huang sought to make ''Episode 3 a more refined and "serious" project than its predecessors after viewing the 2011 film The Artist. ''Plans were made to continue Vail and Boroshlav's pursuit of Green using motifs from ''The Artist ''as a model. Huang reflected on the project: "A script was drawn up for the first scene of Episode 3, and we even began principal photography soon after. I experimented with chroma-keying effects so that the multiple characters, all played by myself, could appear onscreen at the same time. Unfortunately, that proved to be a bit out of reach for the technology and manpower available to us at the time." Further production of ''Episode 3 ''was ultimately shelved in favor of another ''Artist-inspired Flaming Gnome Studios picture, The Elixir of Doom. '' An independent ''Episode 3 mock trailer with an unrelated storyline was produced in 2013 for green screen and VFX experimentation. Vail: The Special Interviews ''(2011) After the release of ''Episode 2, ''Huang introduced the "actors" hired for each role in a behind-the-scenes featurette. Huang, appearing as himself, spoke on the premise of the series and the process of directing his cast and crew. Each fictional actor (again portrayed by Huang) proceeded to recount their experiences with each other throughout the course of the project. ''The Special Interviews ''are often considered to be the launching point of Viktor Boroshlav's popularity among viewers. Zach Justberg, the soft-spoken but eccentric actor "playing" Derek Green, similarly saw a rise in interest. ''Birthday E-cards with Vail and Boroshlav ''(2011-present) Huang created three ''Vail ''spinoffs specifically as birthday gifts for family members: ''A Birthday E-card from Vail and Boroshlav ''(2011) for his father, ''Another Birthday E-card from Vail and Boroshlav ''(2012) for his grandmother, and ''The Attempted Production of Episode 3 ''(2014) for his mother. The first two episodes in this series feature Vail and Boroshlav addressing the camera together and reading off a birthday message, usually after a heated argument over semantics between the two presenters. ''The Attempted Production of Episode 3 ''is unique for beginning with a scene from the anticipated sequel before cutting to a behind-the-scenes camera showing Huang, Boroshlav, and Justberg in a frustrated attempt to finish shooting the movie in time for Mrs. Huang's birthday. They eventually compromise by presenting another traditional Birthday E-card together, much to Boroshlav's chagrin. Another related spinoff, ''A Mother's Day News Conference, ''is a "televised" event featuring the studio's Public Relations Officer Herb Stork (Huang) announcing the cancellation of the "Flaming Gnome Studios Mother's Day Extravaganza." Viktor Boroshlav is then sent to address the members of the press (Huang). After dodging questions regarding the progress of ''Vail: Episode 3, ''Boroshlav takes the opportunity to give a mother's day speech to Huang's mother, whom the cancelled event was originally planned for. ''Ambush: Boroshlav ''series (2011-2012) The ''Ambush: Boroshlav ''series first arose from videos produced by Huang and his cousins during summer family reunions. Each short follows the singular theme of Boroshlav (occasionally joined by Vail) being pursued by two of Green's agents, Rio Kurrinthug and Anne Psychic. In the second episode, Boroshlav is aided by the mysterious Agent Surry in fending off Green's henchmen. The ''Ambush films are generally considered to be part of the Vail: Original Series ''canon. The ''Ambush serials are the first to include recurring characters not portrayed by Huang. Cousins Allen and Sarah make their debut in Ambush in Portofino, with Nicole Huang, Carrie Huang, and Kylen Yu joining the cast in Ambush at Huntington Harbor. '' Other works Two earlier standalone shorts exist. ''Viktor Boroshlav for the Nerf N-Strike Line ''features Boroshlav demonstrating the power of the Nerf CS-6 foam dart gun, repeatedly blasting assailants (D.J. Chatelaine and Eric Schlicker) with the Hasbro product. In ''The Viktor Boroshlav Experience, ''Boroshlav reluctantly gives two eager fans a tour of his backyard as part of a studio fundraiser and contract stipulation. Possible continuation of original series Huang stated before the summer of 2015 that he plans to produce the long-awaited ''Episode 3, ''citing his strong feelings to "keep the characters alive." Additionally, the studio is considering the possibilty of remaking ''Episode 1 ''and ''Episode 2 ''with new equipment and experience at the helm. "We may be in a position to release ''Episode 3 ''along with polished versions of its predecessors - it could be a real revival for the ''Vail ''franchise," said Huang. Although ''Episode 3 ''and remakes of its predecessors were not filmed that summer (largely due to production of ''The Woman in the Mirror), the screenplay for Episode 3 ''was nearing completion as of December 2015. Loss and partial recovery in studio archives In early 2017, a review of studio inventory revealed that numerous Flaming Gnome pictures from the early ''Vail ''era were missing and unaccounted for on current hard drives. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that a large majority of the studio's films predating 2012's ''The Elixir of Doom ''had never been transferred from their original work computers and consolidated on separate external hard drives. Missing titles included: * ''Vail Episode 1: Forgotten Names ''(2011) * Vail Episode 2: The Crimes of Yesteryear (2011) * ''Vail: The Special Interviews ''(2011) * ''A Birthday E-Card from Vail and Boroshlav ''(2011) * ''Another Birthday E-Card from Vail and Boroshlav ''(2011) * ''Viktor Boroshlav for the Nerf N-Strike Line ''(2012) * ''A Mother's Day News Conference ''(2012) * ''Ambush at Portofino (2011) * ''Ambush at Huntington Harbor ''(2012) * ''Men With Guns Mission 1 ''(2012) On June 29th, the studio recovered an original DVD of the ''Vail: Collector's Edition ''marked as a director's copy and dated October 19th, 2011. It contained both Episodes 1 and 2 of the original ''Vail ''series, ''The Special Interviews, Viktor Boroshlav for the Nerf N-Strike Line, ''and the first two entries in the ''Birthday E-Card ''series. These works have since been restored to the studio archives. Category:Films